The Florida Supreme Court recently reaffirmed that a discernible physical injury is required to state a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress. Florida's impact rule requires the person to have evidence of a physical injury that links to emotional distress before they can file a lawsuit.In Florida, individuals can sue for emotional distress under various legal theories, including intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence. The four elements of negligence in Florida are: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damage. Here's how they are broken down. If you have been injured due to negligence or misconduct of someone else, then Florida law may entitle you to damages. In Florida, the law indeed allows for emotional distress to serve as valid grounds for a personal injury claim under certain conditions. In many jurisdictions, this rule is known as the "impact rule" and it requires some physical injury before negligence liability may attach.